Method and apparatus for maximizing the sustainable flash of a handheld portable electronic device

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for maintaining a maximum sustained flash current over the whole length of a flash using a programmable current drive in a handheld portable device powered by a battery. The method involves measuring the battery voltage before and after a flash is initiated and calculating the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the battery. The calculated ESR is then used to adjust the flash current. The process may be repeated to correct for errors in the flash current.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 12/837,881 filedJul. 16, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/863,718 filed Sep. 28, 2007, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This method and device relate generally to handheld electronic deviceshaving a camera LED flash and more particularly, to such devices thatemploy a battery to power the LED flash in addition to other functionsperformed by the handheld electronic device.

2. Background

Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples ofsuch handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal dataassistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellulartelephones, and the like. Such handheld electronic devices are generallyintended to be portable and thus are small and battery powered. Whilesome handheld electronic devices include a wireless communicationcapability, other handheld electronic devices are standalone devicesthat do not communicate with other devices.

The capabilities of these handheld electronic devices continue toexpand. For example, a camera capability has been added to many mobilephones and is likely to expand to other such handheld electronicdevices. More recently, an LED camera flash capability has been added toa number of mobile phones that, along with the other mobile phonecapabilities, is powered by a single lithium ion battery. The currentdrawn from operating an LED (light emitting diode) camera flash isenormous and can easily brown out the system under certain conditions.Brown out is also known as battery droop and means that the batteryvoltage drops to a level that can impair the operation of other systemfunctions, possibly even causing the system to reset. A lithium ionbattery's ability to maintain its voltage is dependent upon such factorsas the age of the battery and temperature; i.e., the equivalent seriesof resistance (ESR) of the battery varies with these parameters. Thereare also other system loads, such as GSM (global system for mobilecommunications) transmits and WIFI TX or RX, that will affect the levelat which the system browns out or resets completely. WIFI and GSM arementioned herein as examples of communication regimes that may beemployed by the handheld electronic device that will place a load on thesystem and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the devicecould alternatively employ CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) or UMTS(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).

Since most of the factors that affect brown out are not generally knownto the user at the time of system operation, e.g., age of the battery,current temperature, size of the system load and flash load, the worstcase voltage drop must be assumed when a decision is made whether toactivate the flash, if brown out is to be avoided. Assuming the worstcase severely limits the usefulness of the flash; i.e., the flash won'ttrigger sometimes, even though the system could probably sustain a flashpulse. Therefore, a method and apparatus is desired that can moreaccurately estimate the maximum flash current that is sustainablewithout having to use worst case assumptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the method and device disclosed herein can begained from the following description of the preferred embodiments whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a foldable cell phone in the openposition, viewed from the keypad side, for which the present concept maybe applied;

FIG. 2 is a elevational view of the open cell phone of FIG. 1, viewedfrom the reverse side;

FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of the voltage droop during a 500ms flash cycle;

FIG. 4 is a logic flow diagram illustrating the steps of the method ofthe parent application;

FIG. 5 is a logic flow diagram illustrating the further improved stepsof this method; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting certain portions of the cell phone.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The method described herein for maintaining a maximum sustainable flashcurrent over the whole length of an LED flash using a programmablecurrent drive can be applied to any handheld portable electronic devicehaving an LED flash, usually in connection with a camera. Forconvenience, the method of both embodiments will be described as appliedto a flash 25 of the cellular phone 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6.FIG. 1 shows an elevational view of the cellular phone 10 in the openposition with the keypad in the operation section 11 and the maindisplay screen 21 exposed. FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the reverseside of the open flip phone 10 shown in FIG. 1. The cellular phone 10has a lower housing 1 comprising an operation section 11 having standardnumerical and alphabetic keys and microphone 12 on the front sideillustrated in FIG. 1 and a battery 13, a battery lock knob 14, aspeaker 15 and an earphone cover 16 on the reverse side of the lowerhousing 1. An upper housing 2 comprises a main display section 21 and areceiver 22 on the front side and a subdisplay section 23, a camera lenssection 24 and an LED flash section 25 on the reverse side of the upperhousing 2. The cellular phone 10 further includes a hinge 3, a lowercover 4, an electrical connector cover 6, a hinge cover 7, an antennacover 8 and a subdisplay 23 perimeter frame.

In accordance with this embodiment, when the user presses the camerashutter button 9 under low light conditions, a flash of the LED 25 istriggered and the system will use initial measurements of the effect ofa given flash current on the battery to predict the maximum sustainableflash current over the whole length of the flash cycle. Since theequivalent series resistance of the battery increases with time, aprogrammable current drive is part of a microprocessor 5 containedwithin the lower housing 1. As is depicted in FIG. 6, the programmablecurrent drive could be a separate component 1004 under the control ofthe microprocessor 5. To predict the maximum sustainable flash currentover the length of the flash cycle, the voltage across the battery isfirst measured under normal system load. Such voltage measurement couldbe performed by the microprocessor 5 or, as is depicted in FIG. 6, by avoltage measuring device 1008 that would be a separate component underthe control of the microprocessor 5. Normal system load means that WIFITX/RX or GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), whether activeor not active, must be taken into account as part of the normal systemload when measuring the voltage across the battery (Vbat) at this stepin the process. The flash current is lower or turned off during a radiooccurrence such as GSM or WIFI. If there is a radio occurrence duringthe pre-flash VBAT measurement, the system repeats the measurement untilthe value of a VBAT level is determined in the absence of a radiooccurrence. The LED flash 25 is then initiated at a pre-selectedcurrent, e.g., 500 mA. The voltage across the battery is then measuredwith the flash plus system load, again taking into account WIFI TX/RX orGSM, whether active or not active. Such voltage measurement could beperformed by the microprocessor 5 or, as is depicted in FIG. 6, by thevoltage measuring device 1008 under the control of the microprocessor 5or by another voltage measuring device 1008A under the control of themicroprocessor 5. It is understood that the voltage measuring devices1008 and 1008A could be individual devices or could be a single devicethat performs multiple functions without limitation. The flash currentat the battery is then calculated from the foregoing values and the Vftables that are obtained from the battery vendor, and a worst-case flashdriver efficiency is assumed. Vf is the maximum forward voltage of theflash LED at specific currents. The Vf table is supplied by the LEDvendor. Then the equivalent series resistance (ESR) across the batteryis calculated from the above data. Since actual measured parameters areused for this calculation, the temperature data and age of the batterydo not need to be known. Next, the equivalent series resistance of thebattery is calculated at a time 500 ms later from known ESRcharacteristics that are provided from measurements made by the handheldelectronic device vendor. A new flash current is then calculated and theresult implemented within approximately less than 3 ms of the start ofthe flash event. The above measurements/calculations should be repeated,to verify the accuracy of the calculations. Alternatively, the systemcan keep sampling the battery voltage every 3 ms throughout the flashduration to ensure that the battery droop due to changes in the ESRfollows the predicted path and does not reset the device.

The battery voltage during a flash event employing the method of theforegoing embodiment is graphically illustrated in FIG. 3 with thetiming of the steps of the method of this embodiment summarilyidentified. It should be noted that the x and y axis in FIG. 3 are notdrawn to scale.

Performing a pre-flash Vbat measurement and measuring the voltage thatthe battery drops down to takes into account both the temperature andbattery ESR variables at the time of taking a picture with the flash.When a wireless local-area network (WLAN) is present on a device, thesoftware that implements the steps of this embodiment needs to identifyif a WLAN pulse occurred during a pre-flash measurement of Vbat. (Itshould be appreciated that WLAN and WIFI are used hereininterchangeably.) By ORing the LNA_EN and WLAN_PA_EN, the software candetermine that a WLAN was on during a flash LNA_EN and WLAN_PA aresystem signals that are OR-ed together and connected to a GPIO(General-Purpose Input/Output on the processor).

Knowing the foregoing information, the software in the microprocessor 5that carries out the logical steps noted in FIG. 4 can reduce the cameraflash current to the optimal point for a given battery and temperatureto allow the system to run without hanging up the device. In general,the optimal flash current is determined by:

1. Calculating the flash current needed for a given light condition.

2. Initiating the LED flash, immediately reading the battery voltage forlonger than 1 ms and taking the minimum value so read, to ignorereadings that occur during a WLAN pulse, but not longer than 3 ms, andadjusting the flash current based on the calculations defined below.

3. Take a second pre-flash reading, i.e., at 4 ms into the initiation ofa flash current and readjust the flash current based on the calculationsdefined below. The term “pre-flash” refers to the interval commencing atthe time the flash current is initiated by activation of the button 9 inthe operational section 11 of the cellular phone 10 and extending to atime just prior to the actual initiation of the flash of the LED 25.

The system monitors Vsys, the system voltage that provides power to thedevice. If Vsys is less than Vmin (a pre-selected setpoint) the deviceis automatically shut down. To avoid accidental shut downs, the systemwaits 3 ms after Vsys has gone below Vmin. At that point, if Vsys<Vminis still true, the system is shut down. That is why in Step 2 above, thesystem needs to measure the pre-flash Vbat in less than 3 ms.

A more detailed explanation of the steps of the method of the embodimentfirst disclosed in the parent application is shown in the flow chartillustrated in FIG. 4. First, the camera process is initiated at step26. Then, at step 28, the software identifies whether the WLAN is on. Ifthe WLAN is on, then the software calculates the flash current for thegiven lighting condition and measures the Vbat before the flash at step30. If the WLAN pulse is on during the Vbat measurement (Step 32), theVbat measurement is repeated until it is taken at a point where no WLANpulse occurs. If Vbat is less than or equal to 3.67V, i.e., theequivalent of one bar on the battery meter on the main display section21, then the flash process is terminated because the battery power istoo low to sustain the flash without browning out or resetting thedevice. The next Vbat pre-flash measurement is made at step 34. If Vbatis greater than 3.67V, then the software performs a pre-flash reading(V_(pre-flash)). The battery droop (Vdrop) is then calculated from themeasured voltage across the battery after the flash is initiated minusV_(pre-flash)(V_(drop)=VBAT−V_(pre-flash))

In the following calculations, the Vdrop_(predicted) is the predictedvoltage drop for a 500 ms pulse. Vdrop is the difference in voltagebetween an approximately 2 ms flash current pulse and the unloadedbattery voltage VBAT. ESR₅₀₀ is determined using a lookup table (LUT)from the ESR that is calculated from the Vdrop measurements. Thefollowing table provides the conversion factor for a given flash outputcurrent to convert the output flash current to the input flash current.

Flash Conversion Current (A) Factor 0.150 1.481 0.200 1.520 0.300 1.5730.400 1.614 0.500 1.633 0.700 1.688 0.900 1.750 1.200 1.850

The additional nomenclature used in the following equations are definedbelow:

I_(adj-flash) is the adjusted flash current after the second pre-flashreading at 4 ms from flash initiation.

I_(New-flash) is the flash current determined by the first pre-flashreading.

V_(2nd-flash) is the measured VBAT during the second pre-flash reading,i.e., approximately 4 ms after the first pre-flash reading.

V_(cal-drop) is the calculated expected VBAT voltage during the secondpre-flash reading.

ESR is the calculated equivalent series resistance of the battery.

ESR₅₀₀ is the calculated ESR for a 500 ms flash current pulse. Theequation for determining this value is determined from the battery lookup table for GSM (1 ms) pulses and Flash pulses (500 ms), though itshould be appreciated that the length of the pulse will depend upon thecommunication regime employed.

XXX_ESR_(xx) is the GSM or Flash ESR value at the indicated (xx). Thesetables are already contained in a number of handheld electronic devicessoftware. XXX_ESR_(closest-10degrees) is the closest ESR value in thelook up table but not less than the calculated ESR value at 10 degreesless.

If the WLAN is enabled as determined at step 28 and a WLAN pulseoccurred during the pre-flash reading as determined by step 36 in FIG.4, then the WLAN pulse current needs to be subtracted from the estimatedflash current to calculate the ESR at Step 38, which can be determinedfrom the following equation 1:ESR=(vdrop/(I _(flash) *X _(LUT)−0.211A))+0.068  (1)

The 0.211A takes into account the worst case received WLAN currentpulse. If there is no WLAN current pulse during the pre-flash reading,then the equivalent series resistance is determined at Step 40 byequation 2 below:ESR=(Vdrop/(I _(flash) *X _(LUT)))+0.068  (2)

If the WLAN is not enabled as determined at step 28, then the ESR iscalculated at step 42-50 using equation 2 above. If the ESR, ascalculated, is greater than the GSM_ESR⁻¹⁹ that is, if the calculatedESR is greater than the ESR at −19° C. for a GSM pulse, then thesoftware has to extrapolate at Step 52 the result as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{E\; S\; R_{500}} = {\lbrack \frac{{FLASH\_ ESR}_{- 19} - {FLASH\_ ESR}_{- 9}}{{GSM\_ ESR}_{- 19} - {GSM\_ ESR}_{- 9}} \rbrack \cdot {\quad{\lbrack {{ESR} - {GSM\_ ESR}_{- 19}} \rbrack + {FLASH\_ ESR}_{- 19}}}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

If ESR is less than GSM_ESR, that is, if the calculated ESR is less thanthe ESR at 51° C., in the presence of a GSM pulse, the calculated 500 msESR is then equal to the flash ESR at 51° C. since the slope is zero atthis point on a number of the look up tables. Accordingly, under thesecircumstances:ESR₅₀₀=FLASH_ESR₅₁  (4)

Otherwise, the 500 ms ESR is interpreted from the battery lookup tableby determining the GSM_ESR value closest to but less than the ESRcalculated above and applying the following formula:

$\begin{matrix}{{E\; S\; R_{500}} = {\lbrack \frac{{FLASH\_ ESR}_{{closest} - {10{degrees}}} - {FLASH\_ ESR}_{closest}}{{GSM\_ ESR}_{{closest} - {10{degrees}}} - {GSM\_ ESR}_{closest}} \rbrack \cdot {\quad{\lbrack {{ESR} - {GSM\_ ESR}_{closest}} \rbrack + {FLASH\_ ESR}_{closest}}}}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

The calculated battery droop at 500 ms then becomes:Vdrop_(predicted) =VBAT−ESR ₅₀₀ ·└I _(flash) ·X _(LUT)+0.356┘  (6)

The optimal percent reduction in flash current obtained at Step 54 isthen expressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{\%\mspace{14mu}{Reduction}\mspace{14mu}{in}\mspace{14mu} I_{flash}} = {\lbrack \frac{V_{{pre}\text{-}{flash}} - 3.2}{{VBAT}_{{pre}\text{-}{flash}} - {Vdrop}_{predicted}} \rbrack - 1}} & (7)\end{matrix}$

If the calculated percentage reduction is greater than 100%, then thesoftware uses a figure of 100% reduction, which means the software usesthe original flash current value. If the percentage reduction iscalculated to be less than zero percent, then the percentage reductionin current is zero. The new flash current then becomes:I _(New-flash)=(1+% reduction)*I _(flash) *X _(LUT)  (8)

The % reduction in equation (8) is a negative number. The secondpre-flash reading (V_(2nd-flash)) corrects the flash current for anyerrors.

If a WLAN pulse occurred during the second pre-flash reading, then theWLAN transmit current needs to be added to the estimated battery droopas follows:V _(cal-drop) =VBAT−ESR*(I _(New-flash) *X _(LUT)+0.356A)*1.03  (9)

If a WLAN pulse did not occur during the second pre-flash reading, thenthe estimated battery droop is expressed as:V _(cal-drop) =VBAT−ESR*(I _(New-flash) *X _(LUT))*1.03  (10)

The new flash current, which was adjusted for errors, can then beexpressed as:I _(adj-flash) =I _(New-flash)*(V _(2nd-flash) /V_(cal-drop))*0.955  (11)

It is important to note that the duration for the first pre-flashreading and the adjustment of the flash current must occur less than 3ms after the camera process is initiated. If the time is longer, thenthere is a significant chance that the device will lock up when a flashis initiated.

A further improvement to the foregoing algorithm is shown in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5. In the improved algorithm the calculationsare simplified and one or more of the relatively high current loads forwhich a worst case was assumed in the foregoing calculations andmeasurements, can be accounted for. In accordance with the algorithmillustrated in FIG. 5, a flash command is first initiated at step 60.Before the flash is actually initiated the battery voltage (V_(b1)) ismeasured at step 62 and a record is made of whether a high current load(I_(highload1)) occurred during the measurement at step 64. As isdepicted in FIG. 6, such a record could be made by the microprocessor 5and stored in a memory 1012 on the microprocessor 5. Alternatively, sucha record could be made by a recording device 1016 that would be aseparate component under the control of the microprocessor 5. If a highcurrent load did occur it was recorded. High current loads can be causedby transmitting or receiving a radio signal, e.g., CDMA, WiFi, WLAN,UMTS, etc. The flash is actually initiated at step 66 and the batteryvoltage (V_(b2)) is again measured after 2 ms from the start of theflash at step 68. A record is made of any high current load(I_(highload2)) that occurred during the measurement at step 70. Again,such a record could be made by the microprocessor 5 and stored in thememory 1012 on the microprocessor 5. Alternatively, such a record couldbe made by the recording device 1016 or by another recording device1016A under the control of the microprocessor 5. The recording devices1016 and 1016A can be two individual components or can be a singlecomponent that performs multiple functions, without limitation. The ESRat 2 ms is then calculated at step 72 from the following formula:

$\begin{matrix}{{ESR}_{2{ms}} = \lbrack \frac{V_{b\; 1} - V_{b\; 2}}{I_{flash} + {\sum I_{{highload}\; 1}} - {\sum I_{{highload}\; 2}}} \rbrack} & (12)\end{matrix}$

Where ΣI_(highload1) is the sum of the high current loads that occurredduring the respective voltage measurements. From the calculated ESR at 2ms, the battery ESR at 500 ms is calculated in the same manner as wasdone above for the algorithm of the parent application. Then at step 74the maximum current allowed from the battery (excluding high currentloads) without adversely affecting the system (I_(MAX)) is calculatedsubtracting any high current loads that can occur during the flash usingthe following formula:

$\begin{matrix}{I_{Max} = {\lbrack \frac{V_{b\; 1} - V_{Min}}{E\; S\; R_{500{ms}}} \rbrack - {\sum I_{highcurrent}}}} & (13)\end{matrix}$In step 76 the flash current is set to I_(Max) and then the process isrepeated at 4 ms into the flash starting at step 68 where the batteryvoltage is re-measured. The process may continuously repeat itself untilthe end of the flash cycle at step 80.

Thus this further improvement provides a simpler and more accuratecalculation for the maximum flash current that could be sustainedwithout dimming or resetting the device. The calculation is moreaccurate because more of the actual load is taken into account.

While specific embodiments have been described in detail, it will beappreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications andalternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overallteachings of the disclosure. For example, this concept can be applied toother flash technologies other than just an LED; e.g., an organiclight-emitting diode (OLED). Furthermore, while in the foregoingembodiments, the microprocessor 5 is programmed to perform many if noteach and every one of the steps of this invention, it should also beappreciated that separate dedicated circuits or components, such as thecomponents 1004, 1008, 1008A, 1016, and/or 1016A, for instance, may beemployed to perform certain of the separate steps without departing fromthe intended scope of the following claims. Accordingly, the particularembodiments disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limitingas to the scope of the device and method described herein, which is tobe given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and allequivalents thereof.

1. A method for adjusting a flash current of a flash in a handheldelectronic portable device powered by a battery, the method comprising:determining any high current load from sources other than the flashduring measurement of the voltage across the battery prior to initiationof the flash; determining any high current load from sources other thanthe flash during measurement of the voltage across the battery afterinitiation of the flash; determining a maximum current based on anequivalent series resistance (ESR) value for a predetermined flashcurrent pulse duration, the equivalent series resistance (ESR) valuedetermined as a function of an ESR of the battery after initiation ofthe flash, any high current loads that occurred during measurement ofthe voltage across the battery prior to initiation of the flash, anyhigh current loads that occurred during measurement of the voltageacross the battery after initiation of the flash, and potential highcurrent loads due to variable loads placed on the battery; and adjustingthe flash current to approximate the maximum current to maintain amaximum sustainable flash current over the predetermined flash currentpulse duration.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein measurement of thevoltage across the battery after initiation of the flash at an initialflash current occurs approximately 2 ms after initiation of the flash.3. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the maximumcurrent at periodic intervals and re-adjusting the flash current aftereach periodic interval.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein each periodicinterval is 2 ms.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprisingdetermining the maximum current throughout the duration of the flashcurrent pulse and re-adjusting the flash current throughout the durationof the flash current pulse.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein thepotential high current loads include operating loads on the device. 7.The method of claim 6 wherein the operating loads include a WiFi TX/RXload.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the initial flash current isapproximately 500 mA.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the flash currentis adjusted within 3 ms of initiating the flash.
 10. The method of claim1 wherein the equivalent series resistance (ESR) value for thepredetermined flash current pulse duration is determined based on knownESR characteristics for the battery.
 11. A handheld portable electronicdevice powered by a battery, the device comprising: a flash device; aprogrammable current drive to initiate the flash device at an initialflash current; at least one voltage measuring device for measuring,prior to initiating the flash, the voltage across the battery, undernormal system load, and for measuring the voltage across the batterywith flash after the flash device is initiated; at least one recordingdevice for recording any high current load from sources other than theflash during measurement of the voltage across the battery prior toinitiation of the flash and for recording any high current load fromsources other than the flash during measurement of the voltage acrossthe battery after initiation of the flash; and a microprocessorconfigured to adjust the flash current of the flash device by:determining a maximum current that can be drawn from the battery basedon an equivalent series resistance (ESR) value for the predeterminedflash current pulse duration, the equivalent series resistance (ESR)value determined as a function of an ESR of the battery after initiationof the flash, any high current loads that occurred during measurement ofthe voltage across the battery prior to initiation of the flash, anyhigh current loads that occurred during measurement of the voltageacross the battery after initiation of the flash, and potential highcurrent loads due to variable loads placed on the battery; and causingthe programmable current drive to adjust the flash current toapproximate the maximum current to maintain a maximum sustainable flashcurrent over the predetermined flash current pulse duration.
 12. Thehandheld portable device of claim 11 wherein the microprocessor isfurther configured to determine the maximum current at periodicintervals and cause the programmable current drive to re-adjust theflash current after each periodic interval.
 13. The handheld portabledevice of claim 11 wherein the microprocessor is further configured todetermine the maximum current throughout the duration of a flash currentpulse and cause the programmable current drive to re-adjust the flashcurrent throughout the duration of the flash current pulse.
 14. Thehandheld portable device of claim 13 wherein the microprocessor isfurther configured to determine that a battery droop due to ESR followsa predicted path and does not reset the device.
 15. The handheldportable device of claim 11 further comprising one or more radiofrequency devices, and wherein the potential high current loads are dueto operation of the one or more radio frequency devices.
 16. Thehandheld portable device of claim 15 wherein the one or more radiofrequency devices comprise WiFi TX/RX devices.
 17. The handheld portabledevice of claim 11 wherein the flash device is a Light Emitting Diode(LED) flash device.
 18. The handheld portable device of claim 11 whereinthe flash device is an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) flash device.